More movies for purchase in iTunes

[Farkie]

Hi,

I recently purchased several Apple TVs for a few rooms in my condo. I also bought some movies in HD and love them! I am a little frustrated though because there are a ton of movies that I want to purchase and they either aren't available to purchase in HD, I can only rent them, or they don't even show up!

I read online about some of the studios that are trying to circumvent iTunes like WB, Fox, and Sony Pictures. Realistically is this not a smart move on my part to try and have all my movies from iTunes?

I love the idea of not having to use discs, but if I can't get awesome movies in HD like Blade Runner and The Dark Knight, should I just go buy a Blu Ray player? I have no interest in renting movies. Thanks for your help!

 

[Sedulous]

Hi,

I recently purchased several Apple TVs for a few rooms in my condo. I also bought some movies in HD and love them! I am a little frustrated though because there are a ton of movies that I want to purchase and they either aren't available to purchase in HD, I can only rent them, or they don't even show up!

I read online about some of the studios that are trying to circumvent iTunes like WB, Fox, and Sony Pictures. Realistically is this not a smart move on my part to try and have all my movies from iTunes?

I love the idea of not having to use discs, but if I can't get awesome movies in HD like Blade Runner and The Dark Knight, should I just go buy a Blu Ray player? I have no interest in renting movies. Thanks for your help!

Yeah, it is frustrating that the movie industry is so terribly out of touch. They are desperate to avoid iTunes becoming the dominant point of sale for their movies. That has led them to try even half-baked alternatives like UV copies.

Movies are added and removed from the iTunes Store all the time, so you might be able to catch one you actually want from time to time. Your best bet might be to rip your bluray discs.

 

[LaWally]

It's probably unrealistic to think you will be able to buy every movie you want on iTunes, so having the ability to buy BR disks and rip them to iTunes as an alternative makes sense.

What country are you in? In the US, Dark Knight is available in HD, but not Blade Runner (although I thought it used to be?).

HBO recently agreed to loosen its arrangements with WB, so that those movies should be available on iTunes soon. Fox and Universal were expected to follow soon after. Not sure about Sony Pictures.

 

[rbrian]

It's a stupid stupid move by the studios. I buy much more music through iTunes than I ever did with CDs, simply because it's so convenient. The music companies are therefore making more money out of me.

If I can't find what I want on iTunes, I have a choice of waiting for the postman to fail to deliver a disc from Amazon, then trek out to the post office to get it, or go out to a shop to buy a disc which is almost guaranteed to skip, or, more likely, wait until it appears on TV.

The other option is to download it illegally - I don't want to do that, I'm happy to pay - but if they won't take my money, what am I supposed to do?

 

[rlogan814]

I love my Apple TV's too! I've recently started purchasing all my movies through iTunes. My advice is to just check on movie availability regularly. I know that I wanted to buy the godfather trilogy 2 months ago, but the 2nd one was only available in SD. I just checked yesterday and now it's available in HD. So now I just check every Tuesday to see the new releases, the new sales, and HD availability on older movies that I want. It's a slight hassle, but it's awesome to just start watching what you want without having to get up and put a disc in (lazy, I know), not to mention it being available on my phone and iPad at the same time. Plus, there's no tax on anything from iTunes, which is awesome.

 

[urkel]

I love the idea of not having to use discs, but if I can't get awesome movies in HD like Blade Runner and The Dark Knight, should I just go buy a Blu Ray player? I have no interest in renting movies. Thanks for your help!

Situations like this are the reality that the studios are blind to. They price digital copies more than physical, and restrict selection making a users only digital options to be either rip or steal.

And this is why I hate these backwards media companies. They make it more difficult to be legal than to be a their. And even when youre trying to be legal then they still paint you as criminals for ripping your own purchased BluRays.

 

[ftaok]

And this is why I hate these backwards media companies. They make it more difficult to be legal than to be a their. And even when youre trying to be legal then they still paint you as criminals for ripping your own purchased BluRays.

I've no love for Hollywood content owners, but that last sentence is a bit of an exagerration. While they may try to make it difficult for an owner of a BD movie to rip it, they have not, as far as I know, characterized that act as criminal (FBI warning not withstanding).

They've never gone after anyone ripping their own purchases. I don't think they really care about it too much at all.

 

[smp99]

There were 2 movies I was interested in that I saw in iTunes that I wanted to rent. But because of scheduling, I waited so I wouldn't start "the clock". When I went back last week to rent, both were gone. One was available to purchase only, the other was gone completely.

Frustrating.

 

[LaWally]

There were 2 movies I was interested in that I saw in iTunes that I wanted to rent. But because of scheduling, I waited so I wouldn't start "the clock". When I went back last week to rent, both were gone. One was available to purchase only, the other was gone completely.

Frustrating.

Sometimes I feel like I'm playing whack-a-mole with movies and rentals appearing then disappearing from iTunes.

When the Russell Crowe version of Robin Hood came out I rented it from iTunes. A month or two later I wanted to watch it again with a friend, and decided to purchase it, but guess what? No longer on iTunes to buy or rent. Finally came back in the store recently so I was finally able to buy it.

Frustrating indeed.

 

[hexonxonx]

You have to be ready to buy a movie almost as soon as you see it in the store.

Sometimes they offer only the SD version and then a few months later, the HD version. Then it may get pulled from the store completely only to show up for rent only a few months later.

I keep a list of movies I am waiting for to be available in HD and I search for them every week. Sometimes you get lucky and they go on sale for $10 as well.

 

[Otago Lad]

Although I have purchased plenty of kids tv shows and the odd kids movie, when it comes to getting great movies I always buy the Bluray and then rip it. Why rip it you say when I have the disc and I'm worried about quality - in case I want to watch it on my ipad when I'm away, for the wife to watch when she can't be bothered getting the disc etc.

My view is that by buying the Bluray and then ripping I'm getting the best of all worlds (quality, extras on the disc and a digital copy) for pretty much the same as Apple are charging for the digital only version. I can also lend the Bluray to family/friends and even sell it in the future if I want - can't do that (easily) with an iTunes bought digital version.